Care for me
by Linneagb
Summary: Alex is spending the weekend home alone when everything doesn't go as planned. She thinks it's just a bug but when it doesn't get better she starts thinking about the fact that maybe not. Filled with Alex, cute Uncle Mitchell and of course a tiny little bit of Phil- osophy.


**So yeah, I wanted to write another modern family story. And so yeah, I love writing sickfics, and so yeah, I love when Mitchell is being a cute uncle and so yeah I love Alex and the other characters of modern family so I had this idea… so here we go. **

**The cover is a photo of Alex Dunphy/ Ariel Winter, and I've put text on it and got it in the right size with apps on my phone.**

"…And be careful with the heat…" Mum ran around the house trying to find things like her cellphone, an extra shirt, an apple. While she was telling me to do or not to do different things during the weekend I was going to be alone. Now was Friday afternoon, Luke was at a friend's for the weekend, Haley was at college and mum and dad were going away on a weekend- trip in a hotel a few towns away.

"Yes mum… no mum…. No mum… MUM" Mum was still running around the house babbling about food in the freezer, microwave and numbers to the pizza- place around the corner. "Mum I'll be fine I promise. Dad is waiting in the car you just go." Mum smiled softly and pulled her coat on.

"I know… it's just hard to realize that you're growing up. Come here." Mum laid her hand on my head and slightly touched the top of my head with her lips. "And you've got the fast- numbers to grandpa and Mitchell in the phone" I sighed.

"One, two, three is to grandpa. Four five six is to uncle Mitchell and seven, eight, nine is to your cellphone." She smiled again, sighed, said her goodbyes and then out the door she went and I was alone until Sunday afternoon- I thought.

I sat down with a geography- project by the kitchen bench. I had been planning on finishing this tonight- geography was my least favorite class so if I got finished with this tonight I could spend the rest of the weekend with something fun. But I had barely started when the front door opened and mum came rushing in again.

"I forgot the papers about the hotel we're staying at." She grabbed some papers from the kitchen table and looked to me while dad stood in the doorway to the kitchen. "And just remember, just sleep in the sofa in case…" I sighed and interrupted.

"In case there's a fire or someone comes, be careful with the heat, I've got food to heat up in the microwave and the number to the Paul's pizza. I've got the fast- numbers to you, uncle Mitchell and grandpa. If anyone I don't know comes to the door I'm not going to open the door. I know mum, relax, I'm not Haley." Mum smiled again, dad bit his lip and opened his mouth to say something.

"And no parties." He smirked, he knew just as well as I and mum that if there was anything I wouldn't do it was go to a party or steal from the vine- cabinet in the kitchen. He just continued smiling while mum hugged me one last time before they both went out the door, mum babbling about that she'd call Mitchell and tell him to come over tomorrow.

I sighed and continued with the project for about half an hour. Mum and dad didn't come in anymore but right after six in early evening suddenly a sharp pain hit me in my stomach. My hand shot towards the area- the lower right part of my abdomen and I hunched forward and moaned in pain.

The pain slowly eased and I figured it was probably just cramping and went back to my project, and it was yet a few hours, I finished the project and sat down in the sofa with a heated up portion of lasagna and a big glass of soda. This was the good thing about being home alone, I could do stuff mum wouldn't let me, eat in the sofa in front of the TV, drink cola to dinner, eat right of the plastic box. It wasn't big things, Haley would probably laugh her ass of at me if she knew those were the things I took myself the freedom to do when I was home alone.

But she didn't know, of course the last hour before the others came home I would spend the time cleaning, vacuuming, doing the dishes and everything so the living room would be spot- free when they came.

I had eaten about half of the box with lasagna when my stomach cramped again, a wave of nausea hit me and I threw the rest of the box and knife and fork on the table before standing up and running and just making it to the toilet before my stomach cramped so bad I threw up the dinner- or what I had had the time to eat for dinner before my stomach cramped more likely.

I sat down and leaned my head against the bathtub. Taking slow, deep breaths I felt the cramp and the nausea ease slowly and I closed my eyes. Maybe I had caught that twelve- hour- bug that was going around at school for the moment. Yeah that would have to be it.

I though a split second about calling mum and ask her to come home. But I shook it off. This was supposed to be hers and dad's special weekend on their own and I didn't want to destroy it. I stayed on the bathroom floor until the nausea and cramp was all gone and then crawled up from the floor and slowly made my way back to the living room.

I laid down and pulled a blanket over me, not even caring about throwing the rest of the lasagna in the compost or put the rest in the dishes. I felt exhausted; my throat was burning and my stomach still hurting from the cramping.

Mum called me late that evening and I did my very best to try to make my voice sound steady. It was hard and she heard that everything wasn't alright but after I had told her at least a thousand times that everything was fine she believed me and we hung up, of course after she'd told me that she'd spoke to uncle Mitchell and he'd come over in the morning.

I sighed, I didn't want to bother Mitchell. I didn't want to bother anybody. I was Alexandria Dunphy and I could take care of myself. Or at least I thought I'd always be able to take care of myself until I caught a stomach bug when I was home alone. Even though I was home alone I bit the pillow to suppress the sounds of my sobs.

I really didn't want to be alone in this, I wanted someone to come and hold me, pull my hair back and stroke my back when I was being sick not so much because it made my stomach hurt less or because it would take away the nausea. Just because I thought that maybe if I didn't feel so alone maybe it would feel just… better over-all and maybe that would be enough.

I thought a while about calling Michael. I had heard stories about other girls at school that had called their boyfriends when they were ill. Some of them told how their boyfriends had been there for them and doing everything they wanted. Some others told about how their boyfriends just had been sitting in front of the computer or the TV playing games barely looking to their girlfriends.

For a second I actually held in the phone getting ready to search him up in my contacts. But I let go again. Michael was very kind and sweet, he'd probably do his best to take care of me- but it wouldn't feel good to him. He would be worried he'd catch my bug and even though he'd maybe take care of me in the best way he wouldn't feel good with it.

Besides, Michael had several younger siblings. The youngest only a few months old, I couldn't risk that he'd catch this and pass this on to any of them. Which was why I put my phone down again, rolled over in the sofa and tried to get some sleep.

I tossed and turned all night and slept only one or two hours at the time a couple of times. Then I woke up with my stomach cramping or another wave of nausea. I got tired of running to the bathroom all the time so I got the trashcan from the kitchen and put it by the sofa, and then I laid down again.

At six A.M. I woke up for the last time. I knew I wasn't going to fall asleep anymore, I put the TV on some bad soap that Haley used to watch, I didn't like it and would rather watch some documentary on animal planet but I didn't have the energy to sit up and reach for the remote, or to actually see what I was watching.

I knew Mitchell would come here around ten to eleven before noon, he'd probably bring Cam and Lily and if there was something I could not stand at this point it was Lily talking about how she'd learned the alphabet or nagging me to teach her something.

"UGH" Since when was I this mean? I never used to care about how Lily talked about herself. It was fun teaching her things. What was this bug doing to me? I was too tired to teach Lily stuff… what would be the next?

For a moment I thought about that I maybe should call uncle Mitchell and tell him not to come here. But I knew from the start that Mitchell knew me too well, if I called and come up with something – even if it would be a good excuse- he'd here that I was lying. He'd hear how weak I was on my voice and then he'd just worry and come here earlier. If I just rested then I'd probably feel so much better by the time they got here I could trick them that everything was fine and they could go home again.

But I was wrong! By ten o'clock my stomach cramped so much I laid curled up in a ball on the sofa- cushions. I was sweating so I had the blanket over half of me, when my stomach cramped again I moaned in pain and was almost relieved when I heard uncle Mitchell's car pull up in the driveway. He knocked the door and I only stood up from the sofa enough to then fall to my knees with another wave of nausea.

There was another knock, I crawled out where he could see me through the windows by the door and prayed to God he would be looking through them. He was. But since mum had told me to lock the door when she and dad left he couldn't get in. I heard him wrenching the handle but the door didn't open. There was nothing else left to do then for me to stand up and slowly make my way to the door where I unlocked it.

But making my way to the hallway had used up the very last of my energy. I leaned against the doorframe and felt myself sinking down to the floor. Well, that would have been if I Mitchell hadn't caught me halfway down to the floor. I was so drowsy I could barely keep my eyes open but I felt him get one arm under my knees and the other behind my back to lift me up and carry me over to the sofa again. Then I heard his steps going into the kitchen, getting a glass out of the cupboard and running water. I understood where this was going when I heard steps coming closer to the sofa again.

I opened my eyes as much as I could, saw Mitchell bend over me and felt his arm support my back. He mumbled something about "come on now Alex" and "You need to drink, you're dehydrated." I felt the cool glass against my lips but held them closed, if I drank anything I would just be sick again.

My stomach cramped again worse than ever with sitting up again, it hurt so bad I wanted to scream and shout, just anything if it would make it better. But I just moaned, and as Mitchell held the glass to my mouth again I slowly drank a couple of sips, only to two minutes later hang over the trash can again.

Uncle Mitchell pulled my hair back and held it with one hand while he stroke the other palm up and down my back. I had at first not really wanted him to take care of me but right now I would have had to admit it was quite good. Uncle Mitchell had a way of keeping calm in almost every situation and now when I was on the verge of breaking down it caught me too.

Wasn't it a bit weird actually I thought? How anyone by you could be so calm it would catch you. It was a bit weird how that would work actually. Just having Uncle Mitchell there made me a lot calmer. Just knowing that I wasn't alone made me feel so calm. I knew there'd always be someone there to care for me when I didn't feel well but when I was actually home alone it was hard imagining that just because being alone when I was sick made me feel so lonely. So all alone in the whole world.

"Alex?" When I had laid down again Mitchell sat down on the edge of the sofa. "Can you show me where it hurts?" I lifted my hand slowly and put it towards my abdomen where it was cramping as worst. He frowned and then pulled a blanket around me and lifted me up. "I think I do know what it is." He said. "Lily had appendicitis last year and this seems like it too. I'll drive you to the hospital and then call Claire okay?"

I didn't have the time to answer the questions before the darkness got too strong to fight and I let myself fall into unconsciousness without pain. When a voice and someone playing with my hair woke me up it felt like only a second had passed, but it must have been more because I laid in a bed, and it was mum's voice calling for me.

"Alex, Alex sweetie." I heard a voice, I could hear it was mum's and I could feel a hand stroking away tresses of hair from my face. But it seemed so distant, so blurry almost in a way that made me feel like I was outside myself. A hand stroke my cheek but even that felt so distant. "Alex? Can you open your eyes and look at me?" There it was again, so distant, yet so close it was as if I would stretch my arm out I would be able to grab it and slowly my eyes fluttered open.

I laid in a bed in a hospital room, I knew it was a hospital because everything was white. Much more than that I couldn't see. My glasses- I needed my glasses. I knew that my parents knew so I didn't bother say it and then I saw dad- who I recognized on all that dark hair- lean over me, grab something and then he pulled my glasses on.

Mum stood by my side stroking my cheek and dad stood right behind her. They looked to me with frowns and distressed eyes. I looked away, I didn't want them to worry about me. I had just destroyed their romantic weekend.

"What time is it?" I asked- more weak than what I had planned. Mum answered me it was about two in the afternoon and then she started explaining what had happened. I had had appendicitis. She started explaining what it was. I already knew- didn't everyone? So I didn't really listen to her. Then she came to the parts about what had happened to me and she told me that it was close to bursting by the time Mitchell brought me in.

I wasn't sure what could happen if the appendix burst but I knew it was serious- I would have to thank Mitchell the next time I saw him. Suddenly the thought hit me that- what if Mitchell hadn't been there. What if it hadn't gotten so bad before he arrived so I would have just waved it off and told him to go home? There were so many things that could have been so different it would have had serious consequences.

Mum climbed up to sit in the bed with me and I leaned against her, I was tired. The medicines I had been given for the surgery I'd guess. But when I was drifting off to sleep I knew I couldn't fall asleep just yet.

"Will you stay with me?" I asked drowsily. I felt mum nod with her chin towards my head as she answered me always. It was a while and then I opened my mouth to speak again. "I'm sorry I destroyed your weekend." Mum pulled away and held me so I would have to look her in the eyes.

"Alex, honey, you didn't destroy anything. And even if you had it wouldn't have been your fault. So don't you dare say you're sorry." I nodded, and rested my head to the side against mum's chest. Dad had moved to the other side of the bed and sat and played with my hair, the last thing I could hear before I fell asleep was one of dad's typical words of wisdom.

"Care for me…. When I'm not well, and I'll care for you, when I am."

**So… that didn't turn out so bad did it? I wanted to come up with some phil- osophy to use as a title and I think I did… what's your opinion? **

**Well, some of the things Claire tells Alex to do and not to do when she's home alone is based on what my mum tells me whenever I'm home alone. "Be careful with the heat" means like, if you light any candles then keep an eye on them, if you turn the stove on turn it off when you're finished. **

**I accidently deleted and changed some parts when I was lifting my computer, I think I managed to get it all as it was before but if some place seems weird I may have missed it. **

**And as a last note, English is not my first language, I come from the land of smorgasbord, lagom and fika **


End file.
